Method of and machine for cutting heel-seats



0. R. ANGELL.

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR CUTTING HEEL SEATS. APPLICATION FILED JAN.7,1918.

1,389,613., PatentedSept. 6,1921.

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, OLR. ANGELL. METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR CUTTING HEEL SEATS.

' APPLICATION FILED JAN. 7, 1918.

1,889,613; 4 I v PatentedSept.6,1921.

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I n f ZZO l mun INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS R. ANGELL, OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN'OR TO HAMEL SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR CUTTING HEEL-SEATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 6,1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,Or1s R. ANGELL, a c1t1- zen of the United States, residing at Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Machines for Cutting Heel-Seats, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawlhis invention relates to the manufacture of shoes and particularly to a method of, and machine for shaping the rear portion of the shoe sole preparatory to the application of a heel thereto.

Wood heels as commercially produced are formed with a concave seat surface in order to obtain a good bearing between said surface and the shoe. Preparatory to the heeling operation the outer edge of the sole 1s cut away at its rear portlon to permlt the heel edge to contact with the upper, the central part of the heel seat surface of the sole which remains being adapted to lie within the concavity of the heel, thus permitting a close union of the heel surface with the shoe at all points.

So far as is known this cutting away of the heel seat surface of the shoe has always heretofore been performed as a hand operation, which owing to the configuration of the parts and the shape of the incision whlch it is necessary to make is slow and laborious, adding materially to the cost of production of shoes in which heels of this type are employed.

It 'is furthermore necessary to exercise great care in carrying out the above described operation in order to avoid injury to the shoe, for if the incision is made deeper than it should be, the innersole or upper may be cut or marred, or the stitching connecting the several parts severed, thus decreasing if not entirely destroying the commercial value of the shoe.

The present invention comprises a method of preparing the heel seat surface of shoes for the application thereto of wood heels which shall be more rapid than any in use at the present time and which shall at the same time avoid all possibility of injury to the shoe.

The invention further consists in the provision of means for removing the surplus material of the sole to form the heel seat,

manual or power means so constructed as to perform the heel seat cutting operation at relatively high speed with certainty of operation and while producing uniform resalts.

The invention further consists in a selfadjusting cutter block for cooperation with the cutting instrumentalities and serving to avoid all possibility of injury of the shoe thereby. v

Other and further objects of the invention, together with improved combinations of parts and desirable details of construction will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, reference being had to the annexed drawings for a preferred embodiment thereof in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of so much of a machine embodying the invention as is necessary for a full disclosure, certain parts beingbroken away.

- Fig. 2 is an elevation of the left hand side of the machine,

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof, Fig. 4 1s a top plan view, Fig. 5 is a perspective showing the cutter blade in cross section and Fig. 6 is a perspective of the rear part of a sole after the cutting operation.

1 is a'frame or base-member which may be of any suitable or desired form, said basemember being provided with an upright portion at 2, having formed therein upon its left hand side as herein disclosed a slideway 3. 8 indicates a boss projecting outwardly from the-base-member and providing a pivotal support for a member 7, said member comprising a sleeve 5, in which is adjustably mounted a rod 6, said rod constituting a support for a shoe-holding jack 4 of usual and well known construction. At 8 is a sleeve surrounding the rod 6 and within which said rod is freely movable, said sleeve constituting the central portion of a bracket 9, the opposite extremities of which may be bolted as at 10 to the machine frame if desired. When so bolted the rod 6 together with the shoe-holding jack will be held rigidly in central position, but if it be desired that said jack be permitted to have a swinging movement from front to rear, the bolts 10 are removed, permitting the bracket being normally held in raised position by means of a spring 12 or other equivalent means, the spring as herein disclosed having one end connected at 13 to the upper portion of the frame, and having its lower end at 14 connected with a member carried by the lower end of the slide 11, the spring normally being so tensioned as to lift the slide 11 and parts carried thereby to extreme upper position. Projecting outwardly from the slide 11 near its upper end is a bracket 15, said bracket being provided upon its rear portion with a surface at 16 acting as a guide for the slide-block 17, said slide-block beingvertically adjustable by means of set screws 18, 19, passing through the bracket 15 and bearing upon lugs (not shown) projecting forwardly from said block 17. The block 17 is provided at 20 with a surface for the reception of a cutter or knife 21, the upper end of said knife bearing against a pair of set screws 22, 23 passing through said block, the vertical position of the knife thus being adjustable with respect to the block, whereby wear of the cutting edge may be compensated by adjustment of the knife blade as a whole.

At 23' is a plate bearing against the rear portion of the knife and being held thereagainst by a pair of bolts 24, 25 passing through openings in the bracket 15, and serving to hold the knife, the block 17, and the bracket in fixed relation to each other. 25 is a bracket vertically adjustable upon the frame as by means of a slot 26 and a bolt 26*, said bracket being provided with an outwardly projecting portion 27, having a slide-way 28 formed upon its forward face, said slide-way serving as a guide for a secondary bracket 29 mounted thereon, and adjustable from front to rear in a horizontal direction by a slot 30 and bolt 31, said bracket 29 being provided with an arm 32 extending to the rear and in a plane above the bracket-member 27.

The arm 32 has projecting downwardly from its outward extremity a pin 33, and is provided at its forward end with a bearing opening 35. 36 is a lug projecting outwardly from the forward portion of the member 29, said lug being provided with a bearing openin at 37 in alinement with the opening 35. lidable within the bearing openings 35 and 37 is a support or rod 34, said rod having pivoted thereto as by a bolt 10, at its lower end, a cutter block 39, which extends outwardly and beneath the cutter. The cutter-block as herein indicated comprises a thin-plate located below the knife and in the path of movement thereof and which is adapted to receive the blow of the knife in cutting the material placed thereon. 12 is a bracket fixed at 4.3 upon therod 34 and having its outer extremity provided with an openlng through" which the rod 33 passes freely, said rod 33 thus serving to prevent turning movement of the rod 34 upon its own axis. A coil spring 11 hearing between lug 36 and bracket 42 normally retains the cutter block 39 at the upper limlt of its path of movement. The member 12 projects at 45 to form a stop member for engagemen-t with a set screw 46, the latter being carried by the slide-block 17 The cutter as herein disclosed comprises a shank portion 55, and a blade portion 50, said blade portion comprising alined straight portions 51, 52 spaced apart at their adjacent extremities and connected by a curved portion 53, the outline of the cutting edge thus produced being somewhat U shaped in form.

The operation of preparing a heel seat for the reception of a heel in accordance with the present invention is as follows Prior to the heeling operation the outersole has been stitched in place but in carrying out the present method of preparing the heel seat, the rear portion or heel seat section of the outersole is left unattached to the innersole.

In performing the method of the present invention as a manual operation a plate or guard-member of metal or other suitable material is first inserted between the inner and outersoles at the unattached portion of the latter and then the surplus leather of the outersole is cut away by a single incision preferably by means of a knife or die of the form herein disclosed having a cutting edge of a shape to remove the desired portion of the heel seat of the outersole, said die being struck by a mallet or actuated by mechanical means as desired, the inserted plate serving both to protect the innersole from injury during the cutting and also to act as an abutment for receiving the cutting blow of the knife.

While as indicated a die is preferred for this purpose, it is evident that after the inserting of such guard plate between the inner and outer soles the surplus leather might also be removed by means of a cutting knife in the hands of the operator, following a suitable pattern laid upon the work as is common in cutting the upper leather of shoes, the guard plate also serving in this case to prevent injury to the innersole.

As a machine operation, the shoe having been mounted upon the jack in proper position, the slide-member 11 is depressed by means of a treadle or other device acting through a connection 60, as herein disclosed, thus causing a downward movement of the knife in the direction of the shoe, the plate 39, however, having been first inserted be tween the outer and inner soles at the heel portion. By reason of the pivotal mounting 40 of the plate 39 the latter may be swung downwardly for easy entrance between the inner and outer soles of the shoe, the plate, however, assuming a position substantially normal to the direction of movement of the knife upon pressure of the cutting edge of the latter thereagainst. As the knife moves down into contact with the outersole, the cutter-block 39 which rests upon theinnersole will support the pressure of the knife and thereby cause the latter to pass through the outersole, cutting out the undesirable portion thereof, and it will be noted that by reason of the resilient support for the block 39 the latter is adapted to move downwardly and position itself in accordance with variations in height of lasts employed. The set screw 46 is so adjusted that upon actual contact of knife 21 with the plate or block 39 the screw 46 will come in contact with the stop-member 45, thereby serving. to positively depress said block until stopped by the opposing pressure of the jack, thus preventing further movement of the knife with respect to the block to an amount suflicient to out into the latter, and so avoiding dulling of the blade and roughening of said block. Upon release of the treadle the knife is again raised through the spring 12 and the cutter-block 39 also rises under the action of spring 41, thus restoring the parts to initial position ready for the succeeding operation.

Having thus described the invention and a preferred embodiment thereof what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,-

1. The process of preparing heel seats on shoes for the reception of heels consisting in inserting a guard-member between the outer and inner soles and thereafter removing the surplus material at the margin of the outersole by a single incision.

2. The process of preparing heel seats on shoes for the reception of wood heels, which consists in inserting a cutter block between the outer and innersoles and thereafter removing the surplus leather at the margin of the outersole by a cutting blow directed against said cutter block.

3. In a machine for cutting heel seats, a cutter reciprocable in a fixed path, a jack for supporting a shoe in the path of the cutter, a cutter-block interposed between said cutter and the jack, said cutter-block being supported for reciprocation toward and from the jack and in the path of the cutter, and means normally maintaining said block at the limit of its path of movement away from the jack.

4. In a machine of the class described a vertically slidable cutter, a shoe support located below and in the path of the cutter, a cutter-block interposed between said cutter and jack, means for supporting said block for sliding movement along the path of the cutter, resilient means for raising said block and means moving with said cutter for limiting its movement with respect to said block. I

5. In a machine for preparing heel seats, a vertically reciprocable cutter, a cutterblock cooperating therewith, means for slidably supporting said cutter-block for movement along the path of the cutter, a spring for raising said cutter-block, and an adjustable contact member moving with said outter, said contact-member being arranged to contact with said cutter-block supporting means during downward movement of the cutter.

6. In a machine of the class described having a cutter and a cutter-block, in combination, means for moving said cutter toward, said block, and means for moving said block simultaneously with the cutter and in the same direction.

7. In a machine of the class described, in combination, acutter and cutter-block reciprocable in a fixed path, means for moving said cuttertoward said block and to within a predetermined distance therefrom and means for thereafter moving said block together with said cutter while maintaining such distance.

8. In a machine of the class described a shoe supporting jack, a member reciprocable toward and from said jack, a cutter adjustably secured to said member, a support slidably mounted adjacent the path of movement of said member, a cutter-block carried by said support and projecting transversely of the path of the cutter, and an adjustable contact element carried by said member and arranged to contact with said support, whereby the cutter-block is 110 positively carried with' the cutter during a portion of the operative movement of the atter.

9. In amachine for preparing heel seats,

a supporting frame, a member slidably 115 mounted thereon, means for reciprocating said member, a knife support adjustable upon said member, a knife adjustable upon said support, and a cutter-block projecting transversely of the path of said knife and 120 means at one side of said path for supporting said block for movement along said path.

10. In a machine of the class described having a reciprocable knife, a support slid- 125 able in a path parallel to that of the knife and a cutter-block pivoted to said support and extending transversely of the path of In testimony whereof I have signed my name to the speoificatlon in the presence of 10 two subscribing witnesses.

OTIS R. ANGELL.

WVitnesses F. A. REARooN, W. A. ELLIASSON. 

